After announcing in late May that the platform would be experimenting with a new virtual reward system, Discord is now launching it to the public. The aim of the rewards, called Orbs, is to get people to click on more interactive ads.
Users earn Orbs after completing Quests, which involve interacting with ads for products or games to get virtual items. Users can redeem Orbs for digital items in Discord’s Shop, like a three-day Nitro credit, an Orb-themed profile badge, profile effects, avatar decorations, and more.
According to Discord, Orbs have been popular among testers, with millions earned and spent during the seven-week beta period. Other company data shows that there was a 16-fold increase in first-time purchases in the Shop, with 79% of participants having never bought anything before.
Discord is said to be considering an IPO and is looking to show potential partners that it can maintain a scalable ad model. Discord is marketing Orbs to advertisers as a simpler way to launch Quest campaigns without needing to create their own rewards.
The Orbs experiment is also likely meant to attract users who do not have a subscription to try Nitro, as they can use Orbs to purchase credits. However, it’s unclear whether there was an increase in subscriptions. The company didn’t respond to a request for comment, but it did mention that 70% of Orbs participants were nonmembers.
